Why Americans Hate Paying Taxes
Posted on July 6, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 391 words
| Arica Deslauriers
The debate over taxes has long been an issue in American politics, and now researchers have found some of the moral underpinnings that may explain why many hate paying taxes.
The study was small, with just 24 small businesspeople taking part in relatively open-ended interviews. Even so, Jeff Kidder of Northern Illinois University and Isaac Martin from the University of California-San Diego, found some trends.
In essence, middle-class Americans, the results suggest, see taxes as a means of robbing hardworking citizens of their dignity.
[Read More]'Journey to the Center of the Moon': The Science of NASA's Lunar Gravity Mission
Posted on July 5, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 723 words
| Trudie Dory
This story was updated at 11:36 a.m. EDT.
NASA's Grail mission, which is set to launch tomorrow morning (Sept. 8), should help scientists understand the moon's structure and evolutionary history better than ever before, researchers say.
The twin Grail spacecraft will map out the moon's gravitational field 100 to 1,000 times more precisely than any previous mission, NASA officials said. That information should yield unprecedented insights into Earth's nearest neighbor — what it's made of, how it formed nearly 4.
[Read More]Are You Ready for America's 1st Virtual-Reality Roller Coasters?
Posted on July 5, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 995 words
| Patria Henriques
Buckle up, roller coaster enthusiasts! The amusement park Six Flags has joined forces with Samsung to bump up the thrill factor of rides with virtual-reality roller coasters that are set to be the first of their kind in North America.
Virtual reality (VR) is already changing how people experience museum exhibits and conduct medical training, and now roller coasters that blend physical sensations with digital worlds can be added to the list.
[Read More]Cloud in a Bottle - Science Fair Projects
Posted on July 5, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 390 words
| Patria Henriques
Weather is all around us. Earth's atmosphere surrounds the planet; it is the mixture of gases we breathe as air. As weather patterns move around, air particles may “bunch up” over a particular area.
More particles mean increased atmospheric pressure. When pressure is high, it prevents clouds from forming and the weather is likely to be fair. When air pressure is low, clouds form more easily and there is a greater chance of rain or snow.
[Read More]Giant Viruses Invent Genes Shared by No Life on Earth
Posted on July 5, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 536 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Giant viruses may invent genes and proteins found nowhere else on Earth, new research suggests.
As their name implies, giant viruses are big — as big as bacteria, and more than twice the size of typical viruses, scientists have previously reported. Giant viruses have more complex genomes than some simple microbial organisms, and many of their genes code for proteins found only in giant viruses, according to past studies.
These so-called orphan genes puzzled scientists, but a new study may suggest where they come from.
[Read More]Going with the Gut: Bacteria's Variability May Aid Nutrition
Posted on July 5, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 513 words
| Fernande Dalal
The microbes that humans carry in their guts show a cultural bias, with certain populations holding belly bacteria that's distinct from others, new research finds.
The bacteria that live in our guts play an important role in health, helping to digest food, make vitamins and interact with the immune system to fight off disease. Some types of microbes help release energy from undigested carbohydrates, like starches, which can be difficult for omnivores like humans to digest.
[Read More]La Niña may brew a more active hurricane season, worsen drought in the Southwest
Posted on July 5, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 642 words
| Fernande Dalal
A climate pattern known as La Niña is emerging in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, supporting climate scientists' predictions for an active Atlantic hurricane season. La Niña could also bring warmer, drier conditions to southern states in the U.S. — many of which are already experiencing extreme drought.
La Niña ("The Girl" in Spanish) and its counterpart El Niño ("The Boy") are part of a climate pattern known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which affects sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, close to the equator.
[Read More]Little Short for a Stormtrooper? Newfound Spiders Named for 'Star Wars' Villains
Posted on July 5, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 407 words
| Fernande Dalal
White-armored Stormtroopers in the "Star Wars" movies are practically identical and nearly impossible to tell apart. That uncanny similarity recently inspired a team of scientists who had discovered a new spider genus; the arachnids were so alike each other in size and markings that the researchers named them after the helmeted troops, calling the creatures Stormtropis.
These eight-legged Stormtroopers belong to a family dubbed bald-legged spiders, which are native to South America and Central America.
[Read More]NASA spacecraft spots China's Mars rover Zhurong heading south on Red Planet (photo)
Posted on July 5, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 351 words
| Fernande Dalal
(opens in new tab)China's first-ever Mars rover was on the move earlier this month, imagery by a NASA spacecraft shows.
The rover, named Zhurong, is part of Tianwen-1, China's first fully homegrown Red Planet mission, which arrived in orbit around Mars in February. Zhurong separated from the Tianwen-1 orbiter on May 14 and touched down on the vast plain Utopia Planitia a few hours later.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) photographed Zhurong on June 6 using its HiRISE ("
[Read More]Scientists Discover New Way to Generate Electricity
Posted on July 5, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 504 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Researchers have found a way to produce large amounts of electricity from tiny cylinders made from carbon atoms.
The achievement could replace decades-old methods of generating electricity, such as combustion engines and turbines, the researchers say.
In the future, coated carbon nanotubes crafted from individual atoms could power everything from cell phones to hybrid-electric vehicles. The team envisions such nanotube-based power being available to consumers in the next five years.
[Read More]